Nigel Evans: should 'weak case' have been brought?

Three of the alleged victims in the case against Nigel Evans told the court
they did not believe any crime had been committed

The acquittal of Nigel Evans on sex charges will lead to inevitable questions as to why the case against him was brought.

It represents another failure for the Crown Prosecution Service North West, which recently brought the unsuccessful case against Coronation Street star William Roache leading to claims the case should never have been brought.

Senior Tory MPs are now demanding an urgent review into the way sex offence prosecutions are carried out.

David Davis called on the Attorney General to launch an urgent review into the processes used by the police and Crown Prosecution Service.

The evidence against Nigel Evans began to look weak when three of the alleged victims told the court they did not believe any crime had taken place.

All three were allegedly assaulted by the Ribble Valley MP between 2002 and 2009, but each told police they did not want to press charges against the politician.

Despite their insistence that they did not consider themselves to be victims of crime, Lancashire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service pressed ahead with the prosecution, telling the victims it was not for them to decide whether there was a case to answer.

One of the men described how Mr Evans allegedly put his hand down the back of his trousers while in a Soho bar in 2002.

He admitted being annoyed about the incident but said he had brushed it off both physically and emotionally, adding: “We treated it as a big joke.”

“It was as if Nigel was testing the water because he was quite drunk and I was a young gay researcher, almost like a 14-year-old at a school disco who can’t chat you up,” he explained.

Asked by Mr Evans’s barrister Peter Wright QC if he ever anticipated that the incident might end up in court, he replied: “Never in a million years.”

A second alleged victim described how a “plastered” Mr Evans had twice attempted to put his hand down his trousers while at the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool 2003.

He also said he was annoyed but told the court he had considered the matter closed and did not think it constituted indecent assault.

But when an independent witness to the incident went to the police to report what had happened last year, the man was told he would have to give a statement.

He told officers at the time: “I do not wish Mr Evans to be charged as a result of what happened to me. I have absolutely no intention of making a complaint to the police and I am making this statement as a witness and not as a victim seeking justice.”

The third offence involved an allegation that Mr Evans had leaned in and had attempted to kiss a young man who was visiting the Houses of Parliament in 2009.

Despite the fact he never physically touched the alleged victim he was charged with sexual assault, although the charge was reduced to attempted sexual assault on the judge’s instructions midway through the trial.

When he was contacted by the police, the man told them: “I considered the matter closed. I do not wish to pursue any kind of complaint against Nigel because I do not believe he has committed any offences. If I thought he had I would have done it at the time.”

Such was Lancashire Constabulary's zeal to pursue the case that when Tory MP Conor Burns told police he only had a vague recollection of one of the incidents and did not feel in a position to provide a statement, he was warned if he did not comply he would be forced to attend court and treated as a “reluctant witness”.

Mr Burns, who is the MP for Bournemouth West said: “They said if I would not give a statement I would be required to appear before a judge, come to court and be a reluctant witness. I felt very uncomfortable about that.